Fluid seal assembly



g- 1939- 'J. A. LIGNIAN ET AL 2,167,986

' FLUID SEAL ASSEMBLY Filed Feb. 7, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 III/I4 alNVENTpRS Jean A Lyn/an Ma/and Ffl'aebnh TTORNEYS 1939. J. A. LIGNIAN El AL- 2,167,986

FLUID SEAL ASSEMBLY lNyEN o s Jean #2 Lyman Y 50/317024? f1 ae/zrlbz I MATTORNEYVS I Patented Aug. 1, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE 2,167,986 FLUID SEAL ASSEMBLY ware Application February 7,1938, Serial No. 189,128

'1 Claims.

The present invention relates to fluid seal assemblies and more particularly to fluid seal assemblies used in connection with rotating shafts and the like.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a fluid seal assembly, for sealing two relatively rotatable parts from one another, said.

assembly including a resilient cup-shap'ed member which has a circumferential spring molded therein adjacent one end thereof, said spring permitting the member to be compressed radially inwardly so that the member may be fitted into an undercut portion in one of said parts, said spring restoring the end of the cup-shaped memher to its original shape within said undercut portion when the pressure is relieved and thereby releasably holding the member to the part.

It is another object of the invention to pro-- vide a fluid seal assembly for .two relatively rotatable members which comprises, a resilient sealing part including two flanged portions tioned flange and bears against the first menformed integral therewith, one of said flanges having a circumferential spring molded therein, a groove being provided in one of said relatively rotatable members into which said spring carrying flange may be snapped for releasably holding the sealing part to the member, a seal ring disposed between said other flange and the other of said relatively rotatable parts and being held in sealing relation with said flange and said member by a spring which acts on the last mento be used as a seat for one end of a resilient fluidseal assembly, said fluid seal assembly having a spring of circumferentialshape molded withinthe end thereof which flts into said undercut portion, said spring maintaining the shape of the assembly and also extending the assembly radially outwardly in sealing engagement with the walls of the undercut portion.

Another object of the present invention isto provide a washing machine with a fluid seal which is disposed between the agitator assembly and thecenter housing member, said seal being compressed axially by the agitator assembly for causing the seal to sealingly engage both the housing member and the agitator assembly.

It is a further object of the invention to provlde a seal construction which prevents water within the tub of a washing machine from seeping into the gear case along the shaft that motivates the agitator.

It is a still further object to provide a seal assembly to be used in connection with the gear case of the washingmachine for preventing grease from seeping outof the gear case along the driving shaft therefor.

In carrying out the above object it is a further object to associate the seal assembly with the pulley on the drive shaft so that the seal assembly rotates therewith. l

It is a still further object to provide a seal assembly for washing machine which is disposed around the driving shaft for the agitator and between the top of the shaft housing and the agitator, said seal being of suiflcient axial length so as to be compressed axially when the agitator is assembled to the shaft, the resilience of said seal assembly under compression creating the sealing pressure against a horizontal sealing surface carried by the agitator. 1

Further objects and advantages'of. the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein preferred embodiments of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings: I

Fig. 1 is a view, in section, illustrating a washing-machine assembly.

Fig. 2 is a view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, illustrating, on an enlarged scale, the gear case sealing assembly.

Fig. 3 is a view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1 illustrating, on an enlarged scale, the construction and assembly. of the fluid seal used in connection with the agitator. 1 Fig. 4 is-a view taken on line '4-4 of Fig. 3 showing the oiling system for the agitator shaft bearing. I

' Fig. .5 is a view taken on-line 5-5 of Fig. 3 illustrating the disposition of the porous metal oil plug.

Fig. 6 is a view, on an enlarged scale, illustratreinforced rim 24 at the open top thereof, which open top may be closed by a removable cover (not shown). Extending upwardly within the undercut, as at 36, to provide a shoulder, or seat,

for a sealing assembly 38. The sealing assembly 36 is disposed around shaft 36, and is fabricated from resilient material and is compressible axially of the shaft. The assembly 38 includes an annular cup-shaped member 46 which has an integral upper flange 42 and an integral lower flange 44 thereon. The flange 44, in the preferred form, has a circumferential spring 46 molded therein. It may be noted by referring to Fig. 8, that the spring 46 preferably does not extend entirely around the circumference of the flange 44 but has its ends spaced from one another a sufficient distance to permit the cup member 46 to be compressed radially inwardly around the flange 44 thereof. Thus when the cup 46 is assembled with housing 26 the spring 46 provides a releasable union between the flange 44 and the annular groove, or recess, formed by undercut portion 36 in the housing member 26. v

Disposed around the shaft 36 and within the cup member 46 is a coiled spring 48. The spring 48 bears at one end thereof upon a portion of the housing 26 and at the other end thereof against a spring retaining washer 56, thereby acting to expand the cup member 46 axially of the shaft. The washer 56 seats directly against the upper flange '42 of the cup '46 and prevents the spring 48 from cutting into the cup, when heavy spring pressures are uilized. The washer 56 is bent outwardly around the outer periphery thereof to provide an annular flange 52 that maintains the spring 48 in alignment with the washer 56 and one side thereof on the flange 42 of cup member 46. The ears 54 align the washer 58 with respect to the cup member 46 and shaft 36 and prevent relative rotation between the washer 58 and the member 46. The ears 54 are preferably a loose fit within recesses 56 thus allowing fractional angular displacement of the washerwith respect to the cup and thereby eliminating the necessity of precision manufacture. If desired, sealing washer 58 may be cemented to the top of the cup member 46 and the ears 54 of spring retaining washer 56 can thereby be eliminated or, if the spring load on flange 4| is not too heavy, the washer 56 can also be eliminated.

The upper end of shaft 36 is preferably squared, as at 66, and carries thereon a hub 62 which has a squared hole therein disposed to fit over the squared part 66 at the upper extremity of the shaft 36. The lower surface of the hub 62 namely surface 64, is preferably machined and polished and it is against this surface that the seal ring 58 ridesand seals. It will be observed that the distance between the surface 64 and the shoulder 36 is slightly less than the free axial length of the the seal assembly. After the agitator 56 is assembled to the shaft, it is preferable to pass a pin 68 through the entire assembly to prevent accidental displacement thereof. It is apparent that the sealing surface 64 could be formed integral with the shaft by providing a shoulder thereon and it is to be understood that the present invention contemplates such a structure.

Fig. 6 shows a modification in the design of the cup 46 particularly with respect to the lower end thereof. In this instance, a flangel44 is provided which has an outwardly extending lip I46 thereon. The spring 46 is molded, as previously explained within flange 44. In the particular embodiment the top of the housing 26 is undercut at I36 so as to provide an overhanging lip I38 thereon. Thus the cup member 46 may be compressed radially inwardly around the flange I44 and snapped into the groove formed by the undercut portion I38 and the lip I46. The spring 46 thereupon expands the flange I44 to its original shape and releasably locks the cup member 46 to the housing 26.

Another modification of the cup design 46 is type of cup I46 is utilized. The cup I46 includes two spaced flanges I66 and I62 thereon. Flange I66 has a circumferential spring 44 molded therein and is of greater diameter than flange I62. The housing 26 is machined to form an annular groove I64 therein. The groove I64 is shaped in a female configuration corresponding to the shape of the flange I66. Thus the cup member I46 can be associated with housing 26 by snapping the flange I66 thereof into groove I64. A spring 48 bears at one end thereof against the bearing 28 and at the other end thereof against washer 56 and thereby exerts an expanding force on cup member I46. It will be noted that the cup member I46 includes an annular loop portion I66,

which permits substantial axial movement of the cup member I46 to take up for wear in the moving parts and to insure positive sealing action of the seal assembly.

In order to provide lubrication for the bearing 28 the shaft 36 is bored lengthwise thereof but slightly off center as at 16 so as to permit a free passage past the pin 68. The bore 16 extends downwardly and adjacent the lower end thereof a transverse bore 12 is provided which passes through the bore' I6 .at right angles theretou A porous metal plug 14 is pressed into the bore I2 and is of sufficient length so that it terminates adjacent the bearing surface of the shaft 36. The

bore 16 may be filled with oil or other lubricant and the porous metal plug 14 thereupon acts as a metering device which carries oil outwardly by capillarity within the pores of the metal plug 14,

which oil is then taken up between the bearing 28 and the shaft 36 for lubricating purposes. The surface tension of the oil prevents an over-lubrication of the bearing since it creates a pressure minutely in excesss of atmospheric pressure when suflicient oil is present at the bearing surface and flow of oil through the plug 14.. Porous metal plugs of the character described are manufactured by sintering together finely divided powdered metals and are well-known to the art.

The lower end of shaft 30 carries a gear 16 thereon which is engaged by a rack gear I8, suitable clutch mechanism (not shown) being provided for engaging and disengaging the said gears. The rack 18 is connected by an arm to an eccentric 82 associated with gear 84 carried by the shaft 88, thus as the gear 84 rotates, the eecentric 82 reciprocates the rack 18 through the medium of the associated arm 80, to cause the gear 16 and the agitator 68 to'be reciprocated. Shaft 86'also drives a wringer (not shown). I A worm 88 engages, and drives, the gear 84 and is carried by a shaft 90 which extends outwardly through the housing Hand is associated with a pulley 92 at the outer end thereof. The pulley 92 is driven by a motor (not shown) through a belt drive (not shown).

A second fluid seal assembly 94 is utilized to prevent the outflow or seepage of grease from the housing 32. The seal assembly 94 is identical to the assembly 38 previously explained with the exception that it rotates with the shaft 90, being carried by the hubof the associated pulley 92. To

prevent any possibility of grease seeping through the joint between the pulley 92 and the shaft 90, a circumferential groove 58 is cut into the shaft 90 and a resilient band 98 is snapped thereon. The band 98 is wedge-shaped in cross section and when the pulley is assembled to the shaft 90 completely seals the joint therebetween.

The present sealing assembly as shown in the drawings substantially completely prevents water, water vapor, or steamwithin the tub 22 from entering the shaft housing 26. In the past, packing has been placed around the shaft but such an expedient has never proven completely satisfactory since it has been impossible to keep the packing tight without frequent manual adjustments, and after a period of wear thereon, water, steam etc. passes between the shaft and the packing thereby corroding the bearing 28 and likewise seeping down into the gear case and having a deleterious effect upon the mechanism thereon. The

present invention prevents water from seeping into the housing since the seal assembly 38 is selfvadjusting i. e. to say as the sealring wears, the

spring 68 expands the sealing assembly axially of the shaft-and maintains a fluid tight seal. Likewise as the thrust bearing 34 wears, and the shaft settles slightly, the seal assembly 38 is compressed axially of the shaft without any detrimental effects on its sealing ability In the preferred form the cup members 40 and hill of the seal assemblies are formedfrom polymerized neoprene or chloroprene or some other similar synthetic rubber material. Such materials have been found to be more resistant to the deleterious effects of oil and water than natural rubber compositions although rubber can be used in many applications of the present seal. The sealing washer 58 is preferably fabricated from one of the phenol formaldehyde condensation products of the thermal setting type commonly known as Bakelite, and includes a substantial quantity'of powdered metal dispersed therethrough. This metallic ingredient, for example, bronze, brass, copper, iron or lead powder, etc., provides a wear surface on the Bakelite which gives it long life with a mi coeflicient friction. It has been found that a quantity of metal powder ranging from 25 'to 60 percent by weight of the total weight of the seal ring yields, very desirable and successful re-.

suits although other proportions may be utilized. Such a'seal ring has a very low effective moment of. inertia and is much more flexible in use than an all metal seal ring. The low effective moment of inertia permits the seal ring to readily follow eccentric movement of the sealing surface, which flexibility is. not possible when using a heavy all metal seal ring. Obviously, other plastic materials may be used as a base material on the seal ring, such as synthetic rubbers, hard rubber and other plastic molded materials which are not deleteriously affected by the fluids to be sealed.

From the foregoing description itwill be apparent that we have provided an extremely effective and flexible self-adjusting fluid seal to be used in connection with relatively rotatable parts.

While the embodiments of the present invention as herein disclosed, constitute preferred forms, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. In combination with two members relatively rotatable with respect to oneanother, of a fluid sealing assembly comprising in combination, an

annular resilientsealing part, two flange portions formed integral with said part, a circumferential spring associated 'with one of said flanges, a

groove formed in one of said members, said spring sealing part, and a spring bearing against said other flange and a portion of the first mentioned member for expanding the resilient sealing part toward the second mentioned member.

2. A fluid seal in combination with two relatively rotatable members comprising, a resilient sealing member, two spaced flanges formed integral with said sealing member, a circumferential spring molded within one of said flanges, an annular groove formed in a part of one of said relatively rotatable members, a sealing surface associated with the second of said members, said spring carrying flange being disposed to snap into said groove for holding the, sealing member to the first of said relatively rotatable members, a seal ring disposed between the second of said flanges and said sealing surface, and resilient means bearing on a part of the first mentioned member and acting on said second mentioned flange for expanding said sealing member from its normal position for causing the seal ring. to sealingly engage the sealing surface and the second mentioned flange. I

3. In a fluid seal assembly in combination with a rotatable shaft and housing therefor, a hub assembly mounted on said shaft and rotatable therewith, acircumferential under-cut portion in saidhousing, a resilient fluid seal assembly'fltting into said under-cut portion at one end of the assembly and being compressed axially between stantially at thejoint of the shaft and the hub and adjacent the under-cut portion of the hub, a resilient annular sealing band disposed to snap into said" under-cut portion on the" shaft and fit snugly against the hub and thereby seal the part, a sealing washer fabricated from a thermal setting resin and having a substantial quantity of bronze powder dispersed therein, adapted to engage the other end of said cup. member on one side thereof and to engage the second of 'said relatively rotatable parts on the other side thereof, and spring means bearing against a portion of the first mentioned part and against the inner side of said cup member for expanding the cup .member axially and thereby sealing the member to the washer and sealing the washer to the second mentioned part.

5. A fluid seal assembly in combination with a shaft and housing said shaft being rotatable within'the housing, a shoulder hermetically associated with said shaft, a resilient annular cupshaped member disposed around the shaft, an under-cut portion on the housing at the outer end thereof, a circumferential spring molded into said cup member atone end thereof for maintaining the shape of said cup member, said spring containing end of the cup member being a snug fltwithin the under-cut portion of the housing, a spring disposed around the shaft and bearing at one end on the housing and at the other end on the cup member for -expanding the cup-member axially of the shaft, a Bakelite sealing washer having metallic particles dispersed therein for providing a wear resistance surface thereon, said washer being disposed about the shaft and between. the outer end of said cup member and said shoulder for sealingly engaging the member and the shaft.

6. A fluid seal in combination with two relatively rotatable members, an. annular resilient sealing part, spaced integral flanges on said part, a circumferential spring molded in one of said flanges, a groove formed in one of said members, said spring carrying flange being adapted to be snapped into said groove for holding the sealing part to the member in non-rotative relation thereto, said other flange facing the other member, and a spring bearing against a part of the first mentioned member for urging the second mentioned flange toward the second mentioned member.

'7. In combination with two members relatively rotatable with respect to one aonther, of a fluid sealing assembly comprising in combination, an annular resilient sealing part, two flange portions formed integra1.with said part, a circumferential spring associated with one of said flanges, an undercut portion formed in one of said members, said spring-carrying flange being so dimensioned as to be a snug fit within said undercut portion for holding the part to the member, a sealing surface associated with the second of said members, a sealing ring disposed between said sealing surface and said other flange of said sealing part, and resilient means bearing against said other flange and against a portion of .the first-mentioned member for pressing the resilient sealing part outwardly into sealing relation with the sealing ring a and for pressing the sealing ring into sealing relation with said sealing surface.

JEAN LIGNIAN. ROLAND P. KOEHRING. 

